The 13th Warrior | | Cast : | Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora | | Director : | John McTiernan, Michael Crichton | | Studio : | Touchstone Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | August 27, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | January 25, 2005 | | Language : | English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 31, 2005 | | Summary | One of my absolute favorite movies | Content
 | The 13th Warrior is one of my absolute favorite movies ever, and I just watched again for the probably the 26th time again this weekend and decided that if I like this movie so much that it might be appropriate to explain why. We have a Crichton story and McTiernan directing, two very promising ingredients indeed, and they both deliver on their promise. There are various criticisms of the movie to be seen in some of these reviews and some of them are spot on. Yes, too much was edited out of this movie, far too much sadly, and yes the DVD included no deleted scenes or anything extra except for the cheesy trailer. BUT......c'mon, the musical score is superb, the scenery absolutely breath-taking, the bad guys are interesting, fantastical, and scary, the Viking heroes are complex, interesting, very heroic and culturally accurate (an almost mind-blowing feat for Hollywood), the acting is extraordinarily goood (where the heck did they get the guys who played the Vikings? They're perfectly cast and great actors to boot), the story is exciting, and there is a goose-bump inducing funeral chant I could listen to about 7,000 times and still shiver every time I hear it. Altogether, WOW!!!!! Yes, I pray that there is a director's cut some day because I would like another hour of character development but what was left of this movie after some savage and unwarranted editing, is still enough to make my all-time favortite, top-ten list of movies and of those on the list I watch this one as regularly as any. Rent this one and watch it and enjoy it for what it does offer, which is extremely good and very intelligent film-making. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 29, 2005 | | Summary | Unlucky Thirteen | Content
| Film Director John McTiernan will never cease to amaze me. He put new meaning to 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' with DIE HARD. He convinced me that a submarine could fly in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. He did a remake of a classic film and the result was an all so excellent THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. And now, he has taken a battle-filled story and made it surprisingly boring in THE 13TH WARRIOR. The screenplay is adapted from a Michael Crichton novel, which was in turn adapted from 8th grade required reading BEOWULF. But, the story we see is neither epic nor classic.
Antonio Banderas portrays the Arab (insert a really long name), the poet turned reluctant warrior. His acting now consists entirely of very light, breathy dialogue, more appropriate to a screen vixen than an action hero. With the exception of the warriors' statuesque leader BULIWYF, no other character is more than one-dimensional. All females shown in the film are insane except for the obligatory blonde, right out of COSMOPOLITAN, who lies with Banderas. But, none of that matters! This is an action film! Well, there is a lot to make you nauseous. I don't mean the disembodied heads or unrecognizable gore, I mean the attacking filmmakers. They pillaged moviegoers out of $7.50 (or $15.00 if they brought a date) leaving them with only a torn ticket stub. Well, that's a bit extreme.
The cinematography is stunning and many times distracts from the main actors, who occasionally block what you want to see... Additionally, the musical score by the prolific Jerry Goldsmith is more rousing then the film deserves. So, the 13th Warrior can join the LAST ACTION HERO as another low moment in McTiernan's career. My suggestion, look to BRAVEHEART or GLADIATOR. Or just buy the musical score and make up your own adventure!
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| Rating | | | Date | July 27, 2005 | | Summary | 13th Warrior | Content
| I really enjoy this movie. It has the makings of a spectacle and I think is underrated. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 24, 2005 | | Summary | The true tale of Beowulf retold on screen. | Content
| This is the Beowulf legend properly told. This Nordic tale is the oldest known recorded saga of the English language. There is a farcical movie with the name "Beowulf" which is a disgrace to name Beowulf.
The added twist of a gracious Islamic hero, the 13th warrior, only adds to the attraction of the story. One wonders as to the source of this welcome cross-cultural embellishment.
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| Rating | | | Date | July 03, 2005 | | Summary | Just didn't cut it | Content
| The best historical movies are those in which the aura of the era is captured. See Braveheart, Gladiator, the Name of the Rose... All these movies show the dirt, grime, shadows, corruption, that one expects those times to have had.
In this movie, it all just seemed fake: the props, the lighting, the acting, the music, etc. All this, combined with an extremely weak plot, is why this movie just gets one star. |
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